Canada is already dealing with record numbers of refugee claimants: In July, almost 20,000 people filed refugee claims, according to Immigration and Refugee Board data – the highest monthly total on record and driven by global displacement, advocates and experts told Reuters.

The number has since dipped, to about 16,400 in September, but remains historically high. There are more than 250,000 claims pending, according to the board.

Canada’s government has slashed the number of permanent and temporary immigrants but has less control over how many people claim asylum.

  • pbjamm@beehaw.org
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    2 days ago

    Could be good for Canada in the long run if educated workers, doctors, nurses, professors, researchers etc decide to move north.

    • abff08f4813c@j4vcdedmiokf56h3ho4t62mlku.srv.us
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      3 days ago

      Absolutely. Wish I could do the same.

      As a practical matter I expect it’s less US citizens, or even those with green cards, who try to come over, and more folks who haven’t yet obtained regular status in the US.

      • Em Adespoton
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        3 days ago

        Canada currently has over a million vacant homes. The housing crisis isn’t a lack of homes or even jobs… it’s purely a matter of inflated value vs income.

        • yeehaw
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          3 days ago

          A lot of the vacant homes are people buying and holding for investments. They have no intention of selling cheap or renting them.

          • Em Adespoton
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            2 days ago

            …, which does almost nothing to “bust” the “myth”.

            The City of Vancouver reported a larger share of vacant dwellings (7.1 per cent), and the vacancy rate was relatively higher for apartments in duplexes, and low-rise and high-rise structures, a trend also seen in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto.

            The point about miscounting duplexes is a good one, as is the temporary housing that wasn’t in use on the day of the census.

            But that article is attempting to defend against a different point than the one I was making; it was defending against the vacant houses being a result of the vacant homes taxes.

            The point I was making is that it’s not the homes themselves that are an issue but their affordability/fitness for housing the unhoused.

            Another point that neither they nor I made is that the market actually needs vacant homes in order for mobility to be possible. Again, the issue here is WHICH homes are vacant / unoccupied, and the census data and the other data doesn’t always go into enough detail there.

            Either way, there are plans to build more homes in the next four years. And there’s a lot if rural Canada where people can live more affordably… especially if they do remote work.

            Asylum seekers are often skilled and quite often in information roles.

      • TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Homes? Apartments? Dorms? The same places Canadians live? I’m not sure what the question you’re asking is. Asylum seekers don’t require special accommodations.

        • yeehaw
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          3 days ago

          Right, I forgot we don’t have a housing shortage or high rents.

          /s

  • eran_morad@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Serious Q: what’s a nice house cost is Vancouver, in a nice area near a big city? We have substantial means, we’re scientists by training (with PhDs and years of work experience), maybe Canada would find value in us.

    Also, how fucked is Canada? I know you have your MAGAts in like Alberta and whatnot, plus a whole slew of your own societal issues.